Five Freshmen that Stood Out in Ohio State's 2017 Spring Game

By Kevin Harrish on April 18, 2017 at 10:10 am
Shaun Wade led all players with six total tackles.
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Fans hoping for a star-studded spring game featuring last year's household names were likely to be disappointed on Saturday. The stars were in the game only briefly for a few series of two-hand-touch football.

What fans did get, however, was a nice, long look at the players of the future, including many who'd never yet played a snap in a Buckeye uniform.

We took a closer look at how some of those young bloods did, ranking the top-five freshman performances from Saturday's spring game.

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates a redshirt freshman

5. Tate Martell (QB)

Tate Martell's spring game performance made two things pretty clear: he will not be the backup quarterback come fall, but he's also an exciting football player.

Martell played for all of three minutes in Saturday's scrimmage as Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow dueled most of the afternoon. In his short cameo, however, managed to break approximately three pairs of ankles and score the first time he touched the ball.

On the next drive, he had a shifty 19-yard scramble and executed a late-pitch speed option to perfection. He finished with 24 rushing yards in the game and went 1-for-2 passing for 11 yards.

Given how little he played, it's pretty clear Martell is decidedly behind Burrow and Haskins for the time being, and he will likely redshirt this season (unless Urban Meyer decides he needs another Tim Tebow package), but that doesn't mean he wasn't fun to watch in spring game.

4. Luke Farrell* (TE)

If spring practice is any indication, the tight ends are going to see plenty of action in Kevin Wilson's offense. While that wasn't obvious in the spring game, which focused a lot on the receivers, redshirt freshman tight end Luke Farrell had a nice game.

Farrell was routinely finding chunks of yardage on mid-level routes at Ohio State's student appreciation day a week ago, and he continued to have that success Saturday when he pulled in two passes for 25 yards while also taking care of business in the trenches on running plays.

Though he will likely be behind returning redshirt senior Marcus Baugh and redshirt sophomore A.J. Alexander, who also had an excellent spring game, Farrell will likely contribute in the fall.

3. J.K. Dobbins (RB)

J.K. Dobbins saw extremely limited action on Saturday, receiving just three carries in the game, but he made them count. The four-star running back showcased his potential with a 12-yard scamper and found the end zone for the first time while wearing a Buckeye uniform late in the third quarter.

Even in limited action, it was easy to see why Dobbins has risen up the depth chart so quickly. He and Mike Weber will be a heck of a one-two punch in the fall.

2. Shaun Wade (CB)

Shaun Wade saw plenty of action on Saturday and he made the most of it. He finished with a game-high six solo tackles and was credited with one pass breakup against Binjimen Victor.

Of course, it wasn't all great. Wade surrendered a 30-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin in the second quarter, but fellow newcomers Jeffrey Okudah and Kendall Sheffield also got beat for big plays, so it's hard to hold it against him.

1. Dwayne Haskins* (QB)

Buckeye fans got their first look at former four-star quarterback commit Dwayne Haskins on Saturday after he redshirted the 2016 season, and they were likely ecstatic about what they saw.

Haskins took snaps on both teams as Urban Meyer tried to get both him and Joe Burrow on the field, but he played primarily for the gray team after starter J.T. Barrett left the game in the first half.

In total, Haskins went 26-for-37 on the day for 293 yards and three touchdowns, and some of those passes were absolutely perfect.

The craziest part is, the spring game provided almost no clarity regarding the backup quarterback battle, because Joe Burrow had a stellar performance as well. The No. 2 quarterback likely will not be decided until just before the start of the 2017 season.

Add a more-experienced Tate Martell into that mix and folks, looks like we have #QBGeddon part II on our hands at this time next season.

Honorable Mentions: Kendall Sheffied (CB) & Eric Glover-Williams (WR)

This list was reserved for freshmen which technically disqualifies redshirt sophomore Kendall Sheffied and junior Eric Glover-Williams, both of whom were making debuts of sorts.

Sheffied is a junior college transfer and made his Ohio Stadium debut on Saturday. It got off to a slow start as Johnnie Dixon beat him for a 44-yard touchdown, but he rebounded with a huge hit against Antonio Williams in the second half.

While this is Glover-Williams' third season at Ohio State, it's his first season playing receiver. Saturday, he shined, pulling in a game-high seven catches for 64 yards, showing no signs of rust from playing defense for the past two seasons.

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